Through the first half of the season Bill Walker was getting a fair amount of run with the Knicks, but that had started to change in the last few weeks. First Carmelo Anthony returned and soaked up most of the minutes at the small forward spot. Then Steve Novak developed a real chemistry with Jeremy Lin — knocking down threes and spacing the floor for the slashing guard — and suddenly Walker was largely out of the rotation.

Walker sat out the past six games. He injured himself vs. New Orleans on Feb. 17th, though the Knicks aren’t sure why his elbow blew up. Coach Mike D’Antoni said he hopes he’ll be back for the playoffs.

“We’ll see where the team is then,’’ D’Antoni said. “Too bad. It’s weird the way it happened. I thought it would get better. He needs to get it well.’’

While he wasn’t playing much he would have been a potential trade chip for the Knicks at the deadline. Not any more. Walker is averaging 6.1 points per game this season.